Conductor device



Aug, 16, 1949. R. FQHANNA CONDUCTOR DEVICE Filed July 20 1945 INVENTORRaymond Pffanfla.

. ATTO EY Patented Aug. 16, 1949 CONDUCTOR DEVICE Raymond P. Hanna,Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, EastPittsburgh, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application July 20.,1945,, Serial No. 606,207

7 Claims. 1

My invention relates, generally, to trolley conductor devices and it hasreference, in particular, 'to trolley conductor splicers and clampdecesl Generally stated, it'is an object of my inventlon'to. provide atrolley conductor splice: or clamp devicethat is simple and inexpensiveto manufacture and isv easy to install and maintain.

More specifically, it is an object of my invention to provide anadjustable spliceror clamp device for securing different sizes ofgrooved or figure-eight trolley conductors.

Another object of my invention is to provide, in simple and effectivemanner, for firmly securing adjacen't portions of trolley conductors of,different sizes. I

Yet another object of my invention is to provide for utilizing anadjustable trolley conductor clamp or splicer which is self-aligning.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide for increasingtheholding power of trolley conductor splicers or clamp devices whichhave relatively movable Jaws for securing trolley conductors.

Other objects will in part be obvious, and will i in part be describedhereinafter.

In practicing my invention, a pair of elongated jaw members having lipportions along the lower edges for clamping grooved trolley conductorsections are pivotally connected to each other and to depending earsoispaced support bosses positioned therebetween. Nuts threadably mountedon the support bosses engage the upper edges of the jaw members andactuate the lip portions to engage trolley conductors of differentsizes. Longitudinal movement of the trolley conductor sections relativetoth'e lip portions is prevented by means of set screws threaded throughnuts loosely positioned between the jaws through transverse openings.Additional securing of the conductor against longitudinal movement iseff ected by providing slots in the lip portions of the jaw members,having abrupt edge portions which dig into the conductor;

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of myinvention, referencemay be made to the following detailed description,which may be read in connection with the accompanyinjg drawing, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a partly sectionedside-elevational view "ofa trolleyconductor splicer embodying the invention in one of its forms;

Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of the splicer shown Fig. '3 is 'asectional view taken along the line III-Ifiof Fig. lfshowing a sectionof groovecl conductor between the jaw members; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken along the line IVIV' of Fig. 1 showinga section of grooved conductor between the jawmembers.

Referring to Fig. 1, the reference numeral l'll may denote, generally, atrolley conductor splice:- for grooved or figure-eight trolleyconductors, having a pair of similar jaw members ii and i2 positionedone oneach side of, and pivotally connected to spaced support bosses l4and I5 for gripping adjacent ends of trolley conductor sections. Holdingmeans comprising set screws l9 and 2s may be provided intermediate thesupport bosses for preventing longitudinal movement ofthe conductorsections betweenthe jaw men bers'.

The jaw members of the splicerm'ay each co n prise similar relativelyflat'elongatedplate portions 2g-l having longitudinal grooves 22-adjacent the lower edges defining lip portions 24 disposed to bepositioned in the grooves of agrooved trol-' ley conductor as shown inFigs. 3 and 4.

order to provide for pivotally connecting the jaw members, means such asthe transversely projecting cars 21 maybe provided adjacent one end andintermediate the longitudinal edge-s,

while a pair of spaced apart projecting ear-s 28 and 29 may be providedadjacent the other end.

The cars 21, 28 and 2-9 maybe so disposed that when the jaw members areplaced in opposed relation, the ears may be interleaved, and'pro videspaces for depending ears 300i the support bosses therebetween. Pins 32may be positioned through aligned openings in theearsto pivotallyconnect the jaw members to each other and to thesupport bosSes.' Meanssuch as the springs 33 may be positioned on the pins 32 to bias the lipportions of the jaw members away from each other. The lip portions 24may be actuated to engage a trolley conductor by means such as nuts 35and 36, which may be threadably positioned on the support bosses l4 and15 for engaging the upper edges of the jaw members to force them apart.

In order to prevent longitudinal movement ofthe trolley conductorsections between the lip portions of the jaw members, a plurality ofcuts or slots 31 and openings 38 may be provided in the lip portions 24.A plurality of relatively sharp edges or shoulders 38 may thus beprovided, which tend to dig into the trolley conductor and preventlongitudinal movement thereofferent sizes oftrolley conductorsbetweenthe j aw members, the holding set screws I9 and 20 may berecessed at the ends to provide peripheral cutting edges, and they maybe threadedly positioned in nuts 4|, which may be loosely positionedbetween the jaw members as shown in Figs. 1 and 4 to provide forengagement of the cutting edges with the upper surface of a trolleyconductor section positioned between the lip portions 24. The nuts 4|may be positioned in recesses or openings 42 and 43 in the jaw members,which have upper surface portions 44 that are downwardly inclined in adirection from the center towards the ends of the splicer. If desired,only the recesses 43 at one end of each jaw member may form an openingthrough the member, the other recesses 42 being on the irmer side only,so that the nuts may be more readily positioned between the jaw membersfrom one side. The set screws may be retained in position by means ofprojections 46 and 41 adjacent the upper longitudinal edges of the jawmembers I l and I2, having recesses 49 therebetween defining openingsfor receiving the set screws relatively loosely. In order to provide forcentrally aligning the set screws with different sizes of trolleyconductors, the upper surface portions 44 of the openings 43 and thelower surface portions of the projections 46 and 4'! may be inclinedupwardly from the outside toward the center of the splicer. Thus, whenthe set screws are tightened against a trolley conductor, the nuts 4|which engage the inclined surface portions 44 automatically tend tocenter themselves relative to a trolley conductor held between the lipportions .of the splicer. Upon any tendency of the conductor to movelongitudinally out from between the lip portions, the nut 4| rocks onthe surface 44, wedging the set screw more tightly against theconductor.

From the above description and the accompanying drawing, it will beapparent that I have provided, in a simple and efiectlve manner, forclamping or splicing both grooved and figureeight trolley conductors.Since the jaw members are relatively movable, different sizes of trolleyconductors may be readily accommodated and the same gripping force maybe applied to any trolley conductor regardless of its size, and whetherit is oversize or undersize its supposed gauge. By utilizing inclinedset screws and nuts having a wedging action, a uniform holding force maybe applied to the trolley conductor against longitudinal movementbetween the jaw members regardless of the size of the conductor.

Since certain changes may be made in the above-described constructionand different embodiments of the invention may be made without departingfrom the spirit or scope thereof, it is intended that all the mattershown in the accompanying drawing and contained in the description shallbe considered as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. A trolley conductor device comprising, support means, a pair ofsimilar jaw members pivotally connected to the support means and havinglip portions along the lower edges, clamp means adjustable to force thelip portions into clamping engagement with a trolley conductor, and abolt and nut loosely retained between the jaw members, the bolt beingdisposed to engage the trolley conductor and the jaw members havingsurfaces against which the nut reacts to force the lip portions intocloser clamping engagement with the conductor. I

2. A trolleyconductor device comprising, a pair of spaced supportmembers, a pair of similar elongated jaw members pivotally connected tothe support members, said jaw members having cooperating projectionsadjacent each end with recesses therein defining central openings andhavlip portions along the lower edges, holding means adjustably mountedon the support members for actuating the jaw members to grip a trolleyconductor between the lip portions, a nut loosely retained between anddisposed to engage both of the jaw members adjacent each end in saidcentral opening, and a bolt associated with each nut disposed to engagea trolley conductor gripped by the lip portions.

3. A trolley conductor splicer comprising, support means, a pair ofidentical jaw members pivotally connected to the support means inopposed relation, said jaw members having lip portions adjacent thelower edges for engaging adjacent ends of a trolley conductor and havingcooperating projections defining an upwardly extending opening adjacenteach end with a seat at the lower end, clamp means adjustable on thesupport means to actuate the jaw members to grip adjacent ends of thetrolley conductor between the lip portions, and holding means comprisinga set screw positioned in the opening and a nut bearing against theseating surface to secure the conductor ends against longitudinalmovement between the lip portions and increase the clamping action ofthe jaw members.

4. A trolley conductor splicer comprising, a pair of spaced supportmembers, a pair of similar elongated jaw members positioned in opposedrelation and pivotally connected to the support members intermediate theupper and lower edges of the jaw members, said jaw members having lipportions along the lower edges for gripping adjacent ends of trolleyconductors and spaced transverse openings with associated projectionspositioned in alignment and having recesses defining central openings,adjustable clamping means on the support members to effect clampingengagement of the lip portions of the jaw members with a trolleyconductor, and holding means including a bolt positioned in one of saidcentral openings and a nut positionable in one of said transverseopenings to engage the projections of both jaw members for engaging theupper surface of the trolley conductor.

5. A self-aligning adjustable trolley conductor device comprising, apair of identical opposed jaw members having lip portions for engaging aconductor and a recess therebetween having upper surfaces which areinclined downwardly in the outward direction relative to each othertransversely of the device, said jaw members being angularly adjustablerelative to each other and operatively connected to support means,rotatable means on the support means for actuating the lip portions intoengagement with a conductor, and retaining means including a nut looselypositioned in the recess and disposed to bear against both uppersurfaces thereof and a set screw threadedly associated therewith forengaging the conductor.

6. A trolley conductor splicer comprising, a pair of substantiallyidentical pivotally associated jaw members having lip portions alongadjacent edges for gripping adjacent ends of a trolley conductor withtransverse slots through the lip portions to provide a plurality ofrelatively sharp shoulders for engaging the conductor, said jaw membershaving transverse openings above the lip portions with the upper edgesdefined by alined projections having recessed ends defining centralopenings, said upper edges being inclined downwardly toward the ends ofthe jaw members, clamp means operable to actuate the lip portions intolateral engagement with a trolley conductor, and a nut looselypositioned in each of said transverse openings to react against thealigned projections of both jaw members provided with a bolt positionedin one of said central openings for engaging the conductor at an acuteangle to provide a wedging action for retaining the conductor againstmovement longitudinally of the lip portions, the reaction of the nutagainst the aligned projections operating to increase the grippingaction of the lip portions on the trolley conductor.

7. A trolley conductor splicer comprising, similar pivotally connectedjaw members having longitudinal edge portions for engaging a conductorand having aligned transverse openings with alined projectionsassociated therewith to define central openings and upper surfaceportions inclined upwardly towards the center longitudinally andtransversely, rotatable clamp means for actuating the jaw members toclamp a conductor between the edge portions, and holding means includingnuts loosely positioned in REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 725,436 Geisenhoncr Apr. 14, 1903931,400 Dusinberre Aug. 17, 1909 15 1,448,195 Chandler Mar. 13, 19231,461,751 Chandler July 17, 1923 1,511,379 Swars Oct. 14, 1924 1,660,873Hines et al Feb. 28, 1928 1,745,876 Swars et al. Feb. 4, 1930 201,912,177 Chandler May 30, 1933 2,013,355 Matthes Sept. 3, 19352,187,311 Genter Jan. 16, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 25 Number Country Date436,727 Germany Nov. 8, 1926

